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Information Exchange and Tax Haven Investment in OECD Securities Markets

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  • Jost H. Heckemeyer
  • Aaron K. Hemmerich

Abstract

Exploiting rich International Monetary Fund (IMF) data on bilateral portfolio investment stocks, we document that tax haven-outbound foreign portfolio investment (FPI) in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) securities markets shows a significantly different response to tax information exchange as compared to outbound FPI from nonhavens. This is evidence of a tax evasion component in tax haven portfolio assets located in the OECD. The total effect of a new information exchange agreement on the stock of haven-outbound FPI is approximately -3.5 percent, on average, but with considerable variation across the 21 tax havens included in this study. Bahrain, Jersey, and Macao show the strongest declines in outbound FPI holdings after increasing transparency through additional information exchange agreements, followed by the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Isle of Man, and Singapore. Our results suggest that tax havens signing a new agreement experience, on average, a reduction of their U.S. portfolio assets by approximately $2.3 billion and a reduction of their U.K. portfolio assets by approximately $1.9 billion. Moreover, we find traces of round-tripping tax evasion, whereby investors put their money in tax havens just to invest it back in their home countries in equity investment, whereas other routes of tax evasion seem to open up primarily in debt FPI. If a tax haven signs a new information exchange agreement with another tax haven rather than with a nonhaven partner, we identify, ceteris paribus, a positive investment response.

Suggested Citation

  • Jost H. Heckemeyer & Aaron K. Hemmerich, 2020. "Information Exchange and Tax Haven Investment in OECD Securities Markets," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 73(2), pages 291-330, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:ntj:journl:v:73:y:2020:i:2:p:291-330
    DOI: 10.17310/ntj.2020.2.01
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    Cited by:

    1. Casi, Elisa & Spengel, Christoph & Stage, Barbara M.B., 2020. "Cross-border tax evasion after the common reporting standard: Game over?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    2. Delatte, Anne-Laure & Guillin, Amelie & Vicard, Vincent, 2022. "Grey zones in global finance: The distorted geography of cross-border investments," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    3. Agustín Bénétrix & Lorenz Emter & Martin Schmitz, 2024. "Automatic for the (tax) people: information sharing and cross-border investment in tax havens," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 39(120), pages 853-895.
    4. Arun Advani & Hannah Tarrant, 2021. "Behavioural responses to a wealth tax," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(3-4), pages 509-537, September.
    5. Pierce O’Reilly & Kevin Parra Ramírez & Michael A. Stemmer, 2021. "Exchange of Information and Bank Deposits in International Financial Centres," Hacienda Pública Española / Review of Public Economics, IEF, vol. 239(4), pages 27-69, November.
    6. Casi, Elisa & Mardan, Mohammed & Stage, Barbara M. B., 2023. "Citizenship/Residence by Investment and Digital Nomad Visas: The Golden Era of Individual Tax Evasion and Avoidance?," Discussion Papers 2023/12, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Business and Management Science.
    7. Dominika Langenmayr & Lennard Zyska, 2021. "Avoiding Taxes: Escaping the Exchange of Information: Tax Evasion via Citizenship-by-Investment," Working Papers 204, Bavarian Graduate Program in Economics (BGPE).
    8. Langenmayr, Dominika & Zyska, Lennard, 2023. "Escaping the exchange of information: Tax evasion via citizenship-by-investment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    9. Rui Pan & Dao‐Zhi Zeng, 2023. "The effects of trade liberalization on tax avoidance," International Journal of Economic Theory, The International Society for Economic Theory, vol. 19(4), pages 898-932, December.
    10. Jakob Miethe, 2020. "The Elusive Banker: Using Hurricanes to Uncover (Non-)Activity in Offshore Financial Centers," CESifo Working Paper Series 8625, CESifo.

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